This morning, Tami put jars of watercolor, paintbrushes and coffee filters in the light table. Rotating groups of friends spent the morning creating art and exploring colors and shading as they blended together.

Building on many friends interest in pill bugs (i.e. rolly pollies /doodle bugs) and worms, Lisa introduced a picture of a rolly polly and invited friends to the art table for a study.

Friends learned each part of the rolly polly and counted its legs. They discovered what happens when the rolly polly is hurt: it turns blue and rolls up. Kai and Vivian came up with a list of other questions for further study.(FAB: K.2.3, K.3.5)

Elliott and Marta worked side by side for much of the morning building and re-building Magna-Tiles.

Kai’s kindergarten math work has generated an interest in graphs and numbers for many friends. While he worked at graphing numbers 1-100, other friends also worked with numbers according to their developmental understanding. (FAB: K.6.4)

Umi, Alexandra and Marta surrounded themselves with books and spent time reading together.

Simon, Annie and Jane played together all morning, mostly in housekeeping, acting out stories. At one point, they split up and Simon and Annie went to the workbench while Jane played Little Ponies in the art loft.

Our Wee Sprouts today are pea pods and sweet peppers. Breakfast was whole wheat toast with peanut butter, pears and bananas. For lunch, Tami made a ground turkey, cheddar cheese and farm fresh egg casserole, peas and cantaloupe.

Thank you to everyone who has made the parking adjustment (parking on the appropriate side of the street and limiting parking time to 10 minutes or less). It continues to help drop off/pick up times move smoothly and ward off inconvenienced neighbors/drivers.

Enjoy your day!

Today at the farm, the children led us through and exploration of the marsh and prairie.  The children (and teachers!) spent their morning squatted down and huddled together OR looking around at all of the amazing sights, sounds, and smells. At the end of our peaceful nature hike, we all gathered at the stage (wood deck back at the edge of the woods/prairie) and Miss Laurie led the children in creating beautiful rhythms from the sounds they recalled from our hike.   Some of the music became 2 part harmony!  Following that, we did a short creative drama based on the story from our classroom, “Pigs in the Mud”  We finished with a song…Song at Farm Video

The pictures tell the story today…

Today, back at WF, some of the highlights were:

• The younger children continued to explore the concept of “who, what, why, when and where” questions.
• Finn, Nate and Elliott worked together to make race car tracks.
• Lea & Marta worked with the playdough.
• Umi and Alexandra explored the role of a hair stylist and turned Miss Lisa into a “rock star princess”.

For lunch we had brown rice with chicken, corn and mixed fruit.

Enjoy this gorgeous afternoon!

Tami

Elliott’s Nana spent the morning with us! Elliott was thrilled and we all enjoyed having her!

Before the swimmers took off, we gathered on the oval read to read Pigs in the Mud: the book that has inspired our original play! We worked on memorizing “On no! Won’t do. Gotta shoo, but who?”: a repetitive line from the book. This small group time turned into an chicken/egg exploration with Fabrizio passing out real eggs!

We have a new group of swimmers today! Here are some photos from the morning.

Back in the classroom, we explored cooked and uncooked spaghetti.

We used many materials as we explored: various colors of tempera paint for sauce; Play-Do for meatballs and corn starch for parmesan cheese. Friends squished the paint, sprinkled the cheese, used a rolling pin to roll over the noodles, twisted noodles onto a fork, pushed noodles down deep into a cup (and pulled them out again); listened for the ‘crunch’ when a cookie cutter pressed down onto the uncooked noodles; and baked cakes and cookies!

This week’s FABS: K.2.3 Literacy: Generate and respond to questions (who, what, where). K.3.5 Understand what is heard or seen by responding to questions (who, what, where). Math: K.6.4: Make precise calculations and check the validity of the results in the context of the problem.

Our Wee sprouts today are cucumber slices and carrots. Breakfast was Malt-O-Meal with applesauce. For lunch, Tami served peanut butter sandwiches on whole wheat bread, bananas and corn. THANK YOU Tank/Chadderton family for the delicious watermelon!

Have a great day.

Good Day!  Today’s blog is about keeping parents informed. 

FLU BUG:  It appears we have a flu virus running through.  We have 2 teachers out sick today and a few children.  It has no name as of yet, simply fever and feeling poorly.

BLUE BUS: I still do not have all the blue bus fees in.  If they are not paid by Friday, your child be unable to participate on Monday.

9:00 class: Ada, Annie, Arleigh, Macy, Simon, Viv, and Kai

9:30 class: Nate, Finn, Marta, Elliott, Alexandra, Stephen, and Lea

NEW SWIMMING SESSION STARTS TOMORROW: The following children are signed up: Kai, Viv, Jane, Macy, Annie, Simon, Ada, Nate, Stephen  and Alexandra. 

PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR SWIMMER IS DRESSED IN CLOTHES/SHOES THAT ARE COMPATIBLE WITH INDEPENDENT DRESSING AND UNDRESSING.

FARM WEDNESDAY: Rain is predicted, but if the weather cooperates, it’s the older kid group!

SHORT READ CHILD GUIDANCE ARTICLE:

“Research shows that what leads children to become responsible, resilient, moral citizens, with emotional accountability is not being punished. Instead, it is receiving empathy, unconditional love,  being involved, and respected. In other words, when children make a mistake, mess up, break things, say something obscene, they don’t learn from pain or shame but they do need us to help them find their way.” For the full article, check out:

http://positiveparentingconnection.net/if-not-punishment-then-what-three-ideas-that-work/

Here are some moments from our classroom this morning:

Breakfast was whole wheat toast with PB & bananas.  Lunch was whole wheat pasta with turkey, watermelon, and cucumbers. 

Have a great day!

Tami

 

Our play is our work!

Each day, after our friends have rested and napped, they eat snack at the island. In a effort to continually cultivate peaceful, smooth transitions, Lisa and Melinda have created a system in which, after snacking, friends identify their name and a number posted on a list. When Jane sees number 3 next to her name, she then finds the play area that has the number three posted and waiting for her there. The literacy and math challenges (finding name and number) and the surprise of discovery (“Where’s my number?”) ease friends into small group work. After a short time, friends rotate to another play area. When all friends have snacked,  the classroom moves on to the afternoon’s work.

Today, WF worked hard playing….mastering skills along the way.

Cooperation.

 

Success.

Brainstorming.  Fine motor.

Choosing a quiet space on my own, just because I knew that’s what I needed.

Gross Motor.

Listening.

Sequencing.

Creating.

Before heading outside this morning, friends practiced their concert songs. After Melinda’s opening night (last night), she decided we also need to also put on a play! Friends chose a book and we mapped out the Who, What and Where. We will create an original script based on what action in the play resonates with our Wee Friends!

A hard and happy day’s work.

Our Wee Sprouts today are English cucumbers! For breakfast we served cereal and bananas. For lunch, Tami prepared whole wheat tortillas with cream and cheddar cheese and fruit salad (bananas and raisins).

Thank you Stephen and Alexandra for yesterday’s delicious cantaloupe! Thanks, too, for all the WF families who continue to donate Wee Sprouts!

Have a terrific weekend!

The Wee Friends morning began with Emotion. After identifying the many different moods and emotions swirling around our classroom, we all sat down to read My Many Colored Days by Dr. Suess. The book matches an emotion with a color. We acted out the different emotions and then played a game in which one friend pulled an emotional mask out of an imaginary bag and put it on their face. Other friends named the emotion and put that mask on (happy, sad, very sad!, angry etc…) too. Afterwards, we went to the art table to create Emotional Masks. Each friend chose the color they identified with and decorated their mask with markers.

Enter the sticks. Our friends LOVE sticks and truthfully, there are endless conversations about stick safety: when we can use sticks and when we can’t: how we can use sticks and how we can’t. We know that sticks are one of nature’s jewels and we also know that sticks can be used in an unsafe way. So. We began by offering each friend a stick on which to tape their mask.

Then, Lisa invited friends to the oval rug for Emotional Mask/Stick Improv! A fairy tale emerged in which forlorn princesses fainted. Lisa guided friends to discover a solution. Friends used their masks as wands, fans and fairy dust sprinklers.

Finally, we poured a huge bag of sticks on the kitchen floor and waited. Kai identified large/small, thick/thin sticks and used his strong muscles to try and snap them. Ada chose small sticks and pulled brittle limbs off. Arleigh stoked a fire with her stick. Marta played drums.

Finn joined our work and exclaimed “Let’s build a fire!”

Stephen played the guitar.

Arleigh searched for something to use as a marshmallow! She found it!

Lisa showed us how to blow out the fire when our marshmallow is done roasting.

Stephen found a container and was the leader on gathering the sticks and putting them away for next time.

He and Finn dragged the bin out to the back porch where our stick bin will be stored.

And Arleigh brought her marshmallows.

Success with Sticks. Satisfaction.

Our Wee Sprouts today are cucumber slices. For breakfast Melinda served whole wheat English Muffins with butter/cinnamon and bananas. For lunch, Lisa has prepared farm fresh scrambled eggs with ham and cheese, carrots and apples.

Enjoy your day.

As per the Garden Growing Committee’s request: “We have decided to postpone (tonight’s garden work party) until next week because of the cold weather-“wee” didn’t think the cold temperatures would be conducive to a fun evening, and current overnight frost may not be good for new plantings. Weather dependent, we thought we’d aim for next week, perhaps next Thursday-date to be confirmed early next week.” – Lindsay

Thank you Lindsay, and please accept my (Laurie) apology for misspelling your last name on yesterday’s blog!

The classroom was busy while our younger friends were at the farm. Here’s what Lisa shared: “In conjunction with our airport study, the children painted a blue sky mural. After reading Little Cloud by Eric Carle, friends gathered at the message board to discuss the book’s themes. They also decided to glue cotton balls to the mural. When asked “How do we get the cotton balls to stick on the wet paint?” Wee Friends brainstormed and recorded their answers on the message board. They determined that waiting until the paint dried was the best solution. They also constructed airplanes with popsicle sticks. Ultimately, many different types of aircraft were constructed.”

The trip to Prairie Winds Farm was a great success! We started by feeding our scraps to the goats. One by one, Tami guided friends as they pet the goats.

Next, Farmer Charlotte showed WF how to collect eggs. When they each had a turn, FC asked WF to scrape the hay out of the coop a lay fresh hay in them.

Anna invited WF to pet a chicken!

We ended our farm trip with a walk along the wildflower path. Friends discovered nature’s balancing beam and a “perfect spot to lay eggs”.

Our Wee Sprouts today are pea pods and broccoli crowns. Breakfast was Lisa’s unbelievably tasty Malt-O-Meal/applesauce with bananas. For lunch we served brown rice with chicken, mixed veggies and applesauce.

Have a terrific, peaceful day.

This year’s Garden Growing Committee is being headed by Paulina Hayden, Amy Crosson and the Tank/Chaddington family. They are inviting Wee/Wee Wee families to the backyard this Wednesday at 5:30pm for a work party to prepare the soil. If you’d like to help this year, please bring a shovel and a picnic dinner Wednesday afternoon! The Committee will be scheduling more work parties in the future, probably on Thursday afternoons henceforth. Please contact Paulina at Wee Wee Friends for additional information. We welcome any plant donations as well!

The swimmers wrapped up their last swimming lesson (for this session) this morning! As always, Wee Friends had a blast, learned a lot and can’t wait to start again next Tuesday. On Monday’s blog, we will post the names of returning and new swimmers for the next session.

Tomorrow, Tami will be taking Lea, Nate, Finn, Marta, Elliott, Umi, Alexandra and Stephen to the farm. The weather forecast calls for a very chilly day so please double and triple layer your Wee Friend-it will be very cold! We will aim at leaving Wee Friends by 9:30 and return in time for lunch.

Back in the classroom, a small group of remaining friends enjoyed a quiet morning. They started at the art table working on homemade greeting cards.

Elliott encouraged and guided Lea to slide down the fireman’s pole.

Arleigh and Marta worked side by side sharing blocks.

Lisa worked with a small group of friends on exploring small/medium/large.

Lea pulled out the gear shifts and Elliott joined her exploration.

Last week, our friend Max brought Eric Carle’s Little Cloud to school. After reading it, a small group of friends discussed how rain falls from clouds. We remembered last week’s science experiment with shaving cream and watercolor rain. Alexandra exclaimed, “Let’s make sunshine today!” Friends agreed that yellow and blue were the colors to use and we moved to the art table to create sunshine with tempera paints on white paper.

Our Wee Sprouts today are pea pods and carrots. Breakfast was Chex and pear slices. For lunch, Lisa prepared ham sandwiches on whole wheat bread, fruit salad (bananas, raisins and mandarin oranges) and peas.

FABS for this week are: Literacy: K.4.6-Ask how and why questions about a topic of interest. K.4.8- Organize and classify information into categories of how and why or by color and size. Math: K.6.3-Explain the reasoning used with concrete objects and pictures.

Happy Day.

The Blue Bus began the next gymnastics session this morning. Today, friends worked on the trapeze bar and the octagon barrel. On the bar, they practiced pike and “V” swings. Then they got to swing upside down like bats. On the octagon, we learned a backward walk over. They practiced rockers and were steam rolled! The sticker today was a butterfly.

Tomorrow is the last swimming session for this go-round. Next Tuesday a new session will begin. We will post who those children are next week, who are enrolled for the next swimming session.

On Wednesday, the younger farm group will be going to the farm, weather permitting. Nate, Finn, Marts, Elliott, Umi, Alexandra and Stephen are in the scheduled group.

Today Lea became an official Wee Friend, having moved over from Wee Wee. Welcome, Lea! We are so glad to have you with us!

With the weather so delicious and inviting, Wee Friends cannot wait to get outside! We spilled onto the playground and friends took off in many different directions. Elliott sampled one of each from our bicycle banquet.

Ada headed for the sandbox and dug a hole deep enough for her to rest her body in.

Finn and Nate started in the sandbox but moved to the small house, filling plates and cups with sand and serving them to others.

 

A safe game of freeze tag had friends running and laughing all over the playground.

The ultimate and eventual team, Stephen and Alexandra sang together as they teetered.

Annie and Jane created a princess house in the WW art area.

In the area of cultivating positive Life Skills, we wanted to update you on our rest and lunch time procedures. At 11:45 am each day, 4-5 older friends come inside to prepare the classroom for rest time and lunch. Kai and Viv are in charge of setting out cots. Jane’s primary job is to fill water glasses halfway,but she also assists Kai and Viv with arranging blankets.

Annie and Macy’s job is to lay out the green mats. They also helps set the table when needed.

Our friends take their jobs very seriously and this sense of responsibility (and fun!) has been born out of several months of repeating and honing these skills. We are excited for them!

The first thing Lea shared as she sat down to eat was “I can do it myself”, meaning serve herself. We’ve observed that our WF’s independence at the lunch table is also growing.

All of our friends can serve themselves and we continue to cultivate coordination, healthy table manners and routines for picking up after themselves.

What has resulted is a (mostly!) peaceful lunchtime where conversations are had and friendships and social skills (sharing, listening, taking turns, to name a few) continue to develop.

Wee Sprouts today are sweet peppers and green beans. Breakfast was whole wheat English muffins with peanut butter and apple slices. For lunch, Tami prepared whole wheat penne pasta with cheddar/mozz cheese, mixed veggies and apple slices.

Don’t forget, our last swimming lesson (for this session) is tomorrow and we will be pulling out at 9:30. Next Tuesday, the new session begins and we will post those names of returning and new swimmers next Monday. Farm Wednesday is our younger group, weather permitting. We will also aim to pull out close to 9:30.

Enjoy this day!

This morning, Simon built the Titanic. He shared that Owen told him all about it and then he built it.

Another Band of Wee Friends worked with the Magna Tiles.

Other friends started their morning decorating lavender construction paper baskets.

Nate honed in on practicing how to hold the scissors.

After everyone had a chance to create a basket, we set up the art table to paint hard boiled eggs.

When the painting was complete, many friends continued working with the dye to color paper, cotton balls and coffee filters. The sensorial exploration that emerged involved squeezing, mixing colors, splashing, stretching cotton, wrapping wet cotton on a spoon and finally, jewelry making with dyed cotton balls.

 

Our Wee Sprouts today are cucumber slices and carrots. For breakfast, we served Kix and bananas and apples. For lunch Lisa made beef and cheese burritos on whole grain bread, cantaloupe and mixed veggies. We also gave WF the choice of eating their painted hard boiled egg.

Enjoy this weekend!